On August 5-6, 2010, in the middle of the night, Honea Egypt Road in Montgomery County looked like a scene out of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. There were patrol units from many different law enforcement agencies from all over Montgomery County and bucket trucks from numerous electric and telephone companies serving Montgomery County. And all of them had their emergencies lights on. The police were there to control traffic and the utility companies were there to raise power-lines as two of the oldest log cabins in Texas were moved to Montgomery, Texas to the Fernland Historical Park.
The two cabins moved were the Crane cabin and Jordan (Jardine) cabin. These two cabins were the first two homes moved to the site of the Fernland Historical Park of Montgomery which is set to open in early 2011. A few days earlier, an early Texas blacksmith shop was moved to the site by the Cherry House Moving company of Houston which was the same company that moved the two cabins to the Fernland Historical Park.
The site of the Fernland Historical Park project is near the Charles B. Stewart Library in the Buffalo Springs planned development community on Clepper Drive in Montgomery, Texas. The acreage was donated by Holly and Philip LeFevre. This site will represent a unique attraction and educational experience.
Soon to be a destination in Montgomery for historical tourism, Fernland Historical Park will be the new home for six examples of early Texas architecture. The oldest cabin dates back to 1826, one of only five cabins in the State of Texas from that era. Five of the structures have been or will be moved in the near future from a site off Honea Egypt Road. They will be joined by the Arnold-Simonton home, which is on the National Historical Register, now just a few blocks away from the Fernland Historical Park in Montgomery.
Soon to be a destination in Montgomery for historical tourism, Fernland Historical Park will be the new home for six examples of early Texas architecture. The oldest cabin dates back to 1826, one of only five cabins in the State of Texas from that era. Five of the structures have been or will be moved in the near future from a site off Honea Egypt Road. They will be joined by the Arnold-Simonton home, which is on the National Historical Register, now just a few blocks away from the Fernland Historical Park in Montgomery.
The group of five buildings were purchased some years ago by Mae and Carroll Tharp, members for decades of the Montgomery Historical Society. Mr. Carroll Tharp was an architect who designed many buildings in the Houston area. The Tharps had the structures dismantled, moved to their acreage off Honea Egypt Road, and reconstructed exactly as originally built. The four cabins are on the Texas Historical Register (see the Texas Historical Commission markers on the two cabins above). The Tharps spent many years collecting artifacts and furnishings appropriate for each building.
The City of Montgomery holds a long-term lease for the group of five buildings from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. The Arnold-Simonton home is owned by the Montgomery Historical Society, which will manage the tours and tour docents and assist with special events. This will truly be a unique historical site that will be the pride of all Texans. The web site for the Fernland Historical Park can be seen at fernland.org. See you in early 2011 for the grand opening!
Top two photos of cabins being moved to Fernland Historical Park are courtesy of Jack B. Shepherd. Bottom three photos of cabins at Fernland Historical Park in Montgomery, Texas are courtesy of Marisa A. Searle.
2 comments:
This is fantastic that those cabins were moved and preserved, I think it is very important to keep our historical evidences.
This really helped with my montgomery project.i'm glad this popped up!
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